Cap with hinged top lid

Abstract: A cap (10) comprises a cap body (11) and a top lid (12), which are united by a hinge (13). A rubber-like elastic member (26) is provided on the cap body and/or the top lid such as to be elastically deformed between the cap body and the top lid when the top lid is closed.

Description: The present invention relates to a cap with improved opening and closing functions of a top lid relative to a cap body. A cap in the related art comprises a cap body fitted on an open portion of a container and a top lid to be opened and closed relative to the cap body. Further, in a cap which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-69656 and also in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 63-88965, a leaf spring or a flexible body with self-hinge sections provided between a cap body and a top lid provides a biasing force to open the top lid. However, the leaf spring has a drawback in that it provides a strong biasing force to quickly open the top lid. In addition, the leaf spring is generally made of a metal and is readily rusted. Therefore, rust may be introduced into the content in the container when the content is brought out of the container through a nozzle in the cap body. The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide for a novel cap, which has no possibility of intrusion of rust in the container content and permits its top lid to be opened gently at an adequate speed by the restoring force of a rubber-like elastic member. As claimed a cap comprises: a cap body having a top lid hinged thereto by a hinge , said top lid being closed by a lock mechanism formed on the cap body and on the top lid ; a rubber-like elastic member positioned near said hinge and secured directly at one end to one cap body or said top lid ; said rubber-like elastic member being deformed between said cap body and said top lid when said top lid is closed. According to the invention, the other end of the rubber-like elastic member is not secured and has an end having a wedge-like tapered shape, said wedge-like tapered end being capable of compressive and bending deformations when pushed by said top lid or said cap body. Also, according to the invention at least either one of the surfaces of the cap body and/or the top lid and the rubber-like elastic member that are spaced apart when the top lid is opened and are in contact with each other when the top lid is closed is a non-flat surface. Thus, with the cap according to the invention, in which the rubber-like elastic member provided between the cap body and the top lid is elastically deformed when the top lid is closed, with the release of the lock mechanism, the top lid is opened by the restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member that has been elastically deformed. The restoring force is not excessive unlike that of a leaf spring or the like, and thus the top lid can be opened gently at an adequate speed. Further, what acts as the restoring force to the top lid is the rubber-like elastic member and not a leaf spring or like member made of a metal, it is therefore not subjected to being rusted, and thus there is no possibility of intrusion of rust in the content that is brought out from a cap body nozzle. In a further aspect, with the cap according to the invention, leaving the top lid closed for a long time (particularly at a high temperature) results in the breeding-out of such additives as a lubricant and an anti-charging agent that are contained in the resin material of the cap body and the top lid or in the rubber-like elastic member, which may cause the blocking of the contact surfaces of the cap body and/or the top lid and the rubber-like elastic member. Therefore, when it is intended to open the top lid that has been left closed for long time, the top lid may not be opened to a sufficient extent due to the blocking noted above. According to the invention, at least either one of the surfaces of the cap body and/or the top lid and the rubber-like elastic member that are spaced apart when the top lid is closed and are in contact with each other when the top lid is open is a non-flat surface, and thus it is possible to prevent the blocking. That is, with the cap provided with the blocking prevention means noted above according to the invention, the top lid having been left closed for long time can be reliably opened to a great extent by the restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member. A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figs. 1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the cap according to the invention with a top lid in an open state, Fig. 1A being a plan view, Fig. 1B being a sectional view; Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the cap in Figs. 1A and 1B with the top lid in a closed state; Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a rubber-like elastic member in the cap in Figs. 1A and 1B ; Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C are fragmentary sectional views illustrating the function of the cap in Figs. 1A and 1B ; Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C are fragmentary sectional views illustrating the function of a comparative example to make clear the operation of the cap in Figs. 1A and 1B ; Figs. 6A and 6B show a second embodiment of the cap according to the invention with a top lid in an open state, Fig. 6A being a sectional view, Fig. 6B being a plan view; Figs. 7A and 7B show the second embodiment of the cap with the top lid in a closed state, Fig. 7A being a sectional view, Fig. 7B being a plan view; and Fig. 8 is a rubber-like elastic member in the cap in Figs. 7A and 7B . Now, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIRST EMBODIMENT Figs. 1A , 1B and 2 show the first embodiment of the cap 10 , which comprises a cap body 11 with a top lid 12 hinged thereto by a main hinge 13 . The cap body 11 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a top wall 14 . Its cylindrical portion 15 has an inner female thread 16 . A container (not shown) has a male thread formed adjacent its opening, and the cap 10 is mounted on the container with the female thread 16 screwed on the male thread. The top wall 14 has a central ring-like raised portion 17 and also has a nozzle 18 formed centrally thereof. The nozzle 18 has a nozzle opening 19 . By squeezing the container, the content in the container can be discharged (brought out) through the nozzle opening 19 . The top lid 12 is substantially cup-shaped and has an integral inner seal 20 and also an integral outer seal 21 surrounding the inner seal 20 . When the top lid 12 is closed, the inner seal 20 can be fitted liquid-tight in the nozzle opening 19 . At the same time, the outer seal 21 , which is cylindrical in shape, is fitted liquid-tight between the ring-like raised portion 17 and the nozzle 18 . Thus, the nozzle opening 19 can be reliably sealed by the inner and outer seals 20 and 21 . The main hinge 13 is formed between the cap body 11 and the top lid 12 and has a small thickness. The fulcrum portion of the main hinge 13 is only capable of a flexing deformation. The fulcrum portion is found at a fixed position. The cap body 11 , the top lid 12 and the main hinge 13 are formed as a one-piece molding. The cap body 11 has a lock surface 22 formed on its side opposite the main hinge 13 . When the top lid 12 is closed, a lock portion 23 of the top lid 12 can engage with the lock surface 22 . The lock surface 22 and the lock portion 23 constitute a lock mechanism 24 . The outer seal 21 also serves as a lock mechanism as it is fitted between the ring-like raised portion 17 and the nozzle 18 . The top wall 14 of the cap body 11 has a groove 25 formed near the main hinge 13 . A rubber-like elastic member 26 is fitted in the groove 25 . The rubber-like elastic member 26 is made of rubber or elastomer (for instance methylvinyl type raw rubber synthesized from "KE951U" (a trade name by Shinetsu Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) as compound and "C-8" (a trade name by the same company) as vulcanizer). The elastic member 26 , as shown in Fig. 3 , has a channel-shaped sectional profile. It has one end 27 fitted in the groove 25 , and its other end 28 has a wedge-like tapered shape, the tip of which is capable of compressive and bending deformations in contact with the inner surface of the top lid 12 . More specifically, as shown in Figs. 4A and 4B , during the closing operation of the top lid 12 , the tip of the other end portion 28 of the rubber-like elastic member 26 is brought into contact and pushed by the inner surface of the top lid 12 . As it is pushed, the other end portion 28 of the rubber-like elastic member 26 is bend inward, and portions 26A and 26B of the rubber-like elastic member 26 undergo elastic deformation. When the top lid 12 is closed, the other end portion 28 is brought into contact with the inner surface 26C of the rubber-like elastic member 26 and compressively deformed. As shown in Figs. 4A to 4C , the rubber-like elastic member 26 undergoes compressive and bending deformations. Thus, with the release of the lock between the lock portion 23 and lock surface 22 of the lock mechanism 24 , the elastic restoring force due to the compressive and bending deformations noted above acts on the top lid 12 . The top lid 12 thus can be opened gently at an adequate speed. It is possible to obtain compressive deformation as well. This means that it is possible to generate a higher restoring force with a rubber-like elastic member having substantially the same size. In other words, it is possible to use a more compact rubber-like elastic member to obtain a desired restoring force. Further, the rubber-like elastic member 26 may be fitted by merely providing the groove 25 in the cap body 11 which is provided with the top lid 12 having the inner surface, and thus it may have a shape in a wide scope of applications. Further, what provides the restoring force to the top lid 12 is the rubber-like elastic member 26 and not a leaf spring or the like made of a metal, it is not rusted, and thus there is no possibility of intrusion of rust in the container content that is brought out through the nozzle opening 19 of the cap body 11 . Furthermore, since the end 27 of the rubber-like elastic member 26 is fitted in the groove 25 formed in the cap body 11 without use of any adhesive or the like, there is neither the possibility of flow-out of adhesive into the content in the container, nor a possibility of a deterioration of any adhesive by the content in the container. SECOND EMBODIMENT Figs. 6A and 6B show the second embodiment of the cap 112 . In this instance, the cap 112 is on a container body 111 of a container 110 adjacent an opening thereof. With the cap 112 in an open state, the container content, such as a cleaning material, can be brought out by squeezing or likewise deforming the container body 111 . The cap 112 comprises a cap body 113 and a top lid 115 hinged thereto via a hinge 114 . The cap body 113 , the hinge 114 and the top lid 115 are formed as a one-piece molding of polypropyrene or like thermoplastic resin. The cap body 113 has a top wall 122 with an outlet port 121 , a mounting cylinder 123 integral with the top wall 122 and surrounding the outlet port 121 , and an outer cylinder 124 integral with the top wall 122 and surrounding the mounting cylinder 123 . On the front side of the cap 112 , the outer cylinder 124 of the cap body 113 has a depression 125 formed at a position on the side opposite the hinge 114 . The mounting cylinder 123 is a circular cylinder and has a female thread 126 . The cap 112 can be mounted on the container body 111 by screwing the female thread 126 on a male thread that is formed on the container body 11 adjacent the opening. The outer cylinder 124 is an angular cylinder that fits the outer diameter of the container body 111 . The top lid 115 is cup-shaped, and its inner surface is formed with a central sealing engagement projection 131 which can be in sealing engagement in the outlet port 121 of the cap body 113 to maintain the top lid 115 in the closed state thereof. Also, when the top lid 115 is in the closed state, the two engaged parts provide an engagement force to hold the top lid closed. The top lid 115 has a top lid opener 132 , which is found on the front side of the cap 112 and above the depression 125 provided in the cap body 113 and can provide a top lid opening force. The top wall 122 of the cap body 113 has a groove 141 formed near the hinge 114 . A rubber-like elastic member 142 is fitted in the groove 141 . The rubber-like elastic member 142 is made of rubber or elastomer (i.e., methylvinyl type raw rubber synthesized from, for instance, "KE951U" (a trade name" by Shinetsu Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) as a compound and "C-8" (a trade name by the same company) as a vulcanizer). The rubber-like elastic member 142 is substantially channel-shaped in the sectional profile as shown in Fig. 23A , and it has one end 143 fitted in the groove 141 . The other end 144 of the rubber-like elastic member 142 has a wedge-like tapered shape with its tip in contact with the inner surface of the top lid 115 and capable of compressive and bending deformations. That is, during the course of closing the top lid 115 , the top of the other end 144 of the rubber-like elastic member 142 is brought into contact with and pushed by the inner surface of the top lid 115 . As it is pushed, the other end 144 of the rubber-like elastic member 142 is bent inward, and portions 142A and 142B of the rubber-like elastic member 142 undergo bending deformation. When the top lid 115 is closed, the other end 144 undergo compressive deformation such that it is folded between the inner surface 142C of the rubber-like elastic member 142 and the top lid 115 . In the cap 112 , both (or either one) of the surfaces of the top lid 115 and the rubber-like elastic member 142 that are separated from each other when the top lid 115 is opened and are brought into contact with each other when the top lid is closed, are made to be non-flat surfaces 115A and 142A ( Fig. 23B and 25 ). The non-flat surfaces 115A and 142A are formed by embossing. Alternatively, they are provided with a plurality of small protuberances. In the cap 112 , the hinge 114 has a large thickness portion 114A terminating in the cap body 113 , a large thickness portion 114B terminating in the top lid 115 and a small thickness portion 151 between the two large thickness portions 114A and 114B . The small thickness portion 114C has a removed portion 151 . The removed portion 151 is formed centrally of the width W of the hinge 114 . The cap 112 is operable as follows. (1) When closing the top lid 115 of the cap 112 , the sealing engagement projection 131 of the top lid 115 is engaged in the outlet port 121 of the cap body 113 to generate a top lid engagement force so as to maintain the top lid 115 in the closed state. In this state, the rubber-like elastic member 142 is given bending and compressive deformations between the cap body 113 and the top lid 115 . (2) To open the top lid of the cap 112 , by holding the container body 111 gripped with a hand, the top lid opener 132 of the top lid 115 is pushed up by exerting a top lid opening force with a thumb, for instance. As a result, the top lid 115 is pushed up about the hinge 114 in the direction of opening the lid, whereby the sealing engagement projection 131 of the top lid 115 is detached from the outlet port 121 of the cap body 113 . Simultaneously with the release of engagement between the sealing engagement projection 131 and the outlet port 121 , the elastic restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member 142 having been elastically deformed acts as a force to open the top lid 115 and thus opens the top lid 115 as in (1) above. Now, the functions of the embodiment will be described. (1) Since the rubber-like elastic member 142 provided between the cap body 113 and the top lid 11 5 is adapted to be elastically deformed when closing the top lid 115 , with the release of the closed state of the cap body 113 and the top lid 115 , the elastic restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member 142 having been elastically deformed has an effect of opening the top lid 115 . This restoring force is not excessive unlike that of a coil spring, and it permits the top lid 115 to be opened gently at an adequate speed. Further, what provides the restoring force to the top lid 115 is the rubber-like elastic member 142 and not a coil spring or the like made of a metal. Thus, it is not rusted, and there is no possibility of intrusion of rust into the content that is brought out through the outlet port 121 of the cap body 113 .Further, since the end 143 of the rubber-like elastic member 142 is fitted in the groove 141 of the cap body 113 without use of any adhesive, there is no possibility of flow-out of adhesive into the content in the container, nor any phenomenon of deterioration of adhesive that might otherwise be caused by the container content. (2) Since the hinge 114 is provided with a removed portion 151 , it is possible to set the bending rigidity of the hinge 114 to a small value to permit ready movement of the hinge 114 without need of excessively increasing the thickness or width of the hinge 114 . Thus, without need of increasing the elastic restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member 142 , it is possible to provide a sufficient opening force to the hinge 114 and ensure a sufficient opening angle of the top lid even at a low temperature, at which the bending rigidity of the hinge 114 is increased. That is, the rubber-like elastic member 142 need not reliably provide a high elastic restoring force, and thus it may have a small thickness. That is, the top lid locking force to be generated by the top lid locking means between the cap body 113 and the top lid 115 (i.e., the outlet port 121 and the sealing engagement projection 131 ), that is, the sum of the elastic restoring force provided by the rubber-like elastic member 142 and the sealing force provided to the outlet port 121 of the cap body 113 , may be of a small value, and thus it is possible to set the top lid operation force corresponding to the top lid locking force provided when the top lid is opened to a small value to improve the top lid operation control character.Further, since the width of the hinge 114 is not particularly reduced while setting a small value of the bending rigidity of the hinge 114 , the top lid 115 can be stably positioned relative to the cap body 113 even with a deviation of the operation of closing the top lid 115 during this operation. That is, the torsional deformation angle of the hinge 114 is small, and there is no possibility of torsional breakage of the hinge 114 . (3) Where the hinge 114 comprises the large thickness portion 114A terminating in the cap body 113 , the large thickness portion 114B terminating in the top lid 115 and the small thickness portion 114C between the two large thickness portions 114A and 114B , with the provision of the removed portion 151 in the small thickness portion, the notch 152 ( Fig. 24B ) formed in the back of the hinge 114 may be shallow when closing the top lid, and there is no possibility for the corners of the notch 152 to be caught by fingers or the like. There is thus no possibility of spoiling the character of handling of the container 110 . (4) Since the surfaces of the top lid 115 and the rubber-like elastic member 142 that are brought into contact with each other when closing the top lid are made non-flat surfaces 115A and 142A , even with breeding-out of lubricant, anti-charging agent and other additives contained in the resin of the top lid 115 as a result of leaving the top lid 115 in the closed state for a long time (particularly at a high temperature), there is no possibility of blocking of the contact surfaces of the top lid 115 and the rubber-like elastic member 142 . The top lid 115 thus can be opened to a great extent by the elastic restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member 142 even after it has been left closed for a long time. Table 1 below shows the result of examination of the opening angle of the top lid in the cap according to the invention. The cap was made of polypropyrene, and the rubber-like elastic member was made of silicone rubber. Cap 1 was fabricated without providing of non-flat surfaces as noted above. Cap 2 , on the other hand, was provided with non-flat surfaces on the cap side. The opening angle was examined after leaving the caps at 5°C, room temperature and 40°C for six months. It is recognized that with the cap 1 the top lid opening angle is small due to blocking caused as a result of leaving the top lid closed for long time, whereas with the cap 2 the top lid opening angle is large owing to the prevention of the blocking. The variation of the opening angle at the individual temperatures is due to permanent compressive strain in silicone rubber. A temperature of 40°C is a considerably stringent condition, but even at this temperature it was possible with the cap 2 to obtain an opening angle of 90 degrees which is permissible in use. Top lid opening angle Leaving temperature Cap 1 Cap 2 5 °C 86 degrees 120 degrees Room temperature 69 degrees 115 degrees 40°C 50 degrees 90 degrees In carrying out the invention, the non-flat surfaces ( 115A , 142A ) may be provided on either or both of the cap body and/or top lid and the rubber-Like elastic member. The non-flat surfaces of the cap body and/or top lid and the rubber-like elastic member may be formed only in portions to be brought into contact with each other or a portion or entirety including portions to be brought into contact with each other. As has been shown in the foregoing, according to the invention, there is no possibility of intrusion of rust into the container content, and the top lid can be opened gently and at an adequate speed by the restoring force of the rubber-like elastic member.

Claims: A cap (10) comprising: a cap body (11) having a top lid (12) hinged thereto by a hinge (13), said top lid being closed by a lock mechanism (24) formed on the cap body and on the top lid ; a rubber-like elastic member positioned near said hinge and secured directly at one end to one of said cap body or said top lid ; said rubber-like elastic member being deformed between said cap body and said top lid when said top lid is closed ; characterized in that the other end of the rubber-like elastic member is not secured and has a wedge-like tapered shape, said wedge-like tapered end being capable of compressive and bending deformations when pushed by said top lid or said cap body. The cap according to claim 1, wherein said hinge is a snap hinge. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of surfaces of said cap body or said top lid and said rubber-like elastic member that are spaced apart when said top lid is opened and are in contact with each other when said top lid is closed is a non-flat surface.

Inventors: TAKEUCHI KIYOSHI, TAKEUCHI, KIYOSHI
Applicants: KAO CORP, KAO CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65D47
IPC codes: B65D47